Photo: Pexels
On Friday night, November 13, at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires, something unusual happened: Argentina played a home match and the stadium was not full.
It was Argentina’s first game since Lionel Messi retired from international football in early October. He left with 125 goals in 207 appearances, a World Cup, two Copa Américas and, most recently, a 1-0 defeat to Spain in the 2026 World Cup final in New Jersey. Without him, Argentina lost 2-1 to Uruguay in a friendly. Uruguay is now coached by Diego Forlán, the former striker who was the best player at the 2010 World Cup.
Defender Leonardo Balerdi scored an own goal in the 48th minute. Maxi Araújo doubled Uruguay’s lead five minutes later. Julián Álvarez scored for Argentina in the 73rd minute, but they could not equalise. It was Argentina’s first defeat since the World Cup final. In Indonesia, “argentina vs uruguay” was the top search on Google Trends, with more than 100,000 searches.
What Scaloni said and did
Coach Lionel Scaloni, who signed a contract extension to 2030 this week, was calm afterwards: “We have to rebuild without Leo Messi, and we have the talent to bounce back from this loss.” Álvarez called it “a new era, with a lot of young guys”.
Scaloni’s most notable decision came before kick-off. Nobody wore the No. 10 shirt. He said he had not chosen a successor and, since it is not required, would leave the number unused for now. Most of the crowd wore Messi’s No. 10 anyway.
My view: losing is part of the rebuild
Argentina still kept the ball well. What was missing, as many observers noted, was the sudden pass or run in the final third that Messi provided for almost 20 years. Nico Paz and Thiago Almada are talented, but neither is Messi, and it is unfair to expect them to be.
That is why I think Scaloni handled the No. 10 shirt correctly. Giving it to a 21-year-old in the first match after Messi would have placed an impossible burden on him. Brazil spent years after Pelé, and again after Ronaldinho and Kaká, looking for a single replacement. Argentina itself spent years after Maradona expecting one player to carry the team. Scaloni’s best teams worked because the team was built to support Messi, not because Messi did everything alone. The task now is to build a team that does not depend on any one player.
Uruguay deserves credit. Forlán’s side was organised and took its chances. Uruguay rarely receives much attention but has always been tough to play against.
For football fans in Southeast Asia, many of whom have supported Argentina because of Messi, this is a big change. The challenge for the team is to keep those fans as it rebuilds. Argentina play Costa Rica in Córdoba on Tuesday.
Sources: ESPN; beIN Sports; Yahoo Sports.
